Google Glass: The weird and wonderful apps on offer

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Frame and fortune: Apps for the Google Glass

The next phase in mobile apps will soon be upon us as developers set their sights on wearable technology.

By 2017, mobile apps will have been downloaded more than 268 billion times, generating revenue of more than $77 billion and making them one of the most popular computing tools for users across the globe, according to research by Gartner. The same research firm predicts that wearable devices will drive 50 percent of total app interactions.

Credit Suisse analysts have labeled wearable tech "the next big thing" and say the industry is set to grow from around $3 billion to $5 billion today to $50 billion within five years.

The highest-profile part of the wearable craze, Google Glass is still in development and available to "explorers" that sign up for testing. Google says its goal is to give it broader availability "down the road" with a release date expected this year.

The device is a wearable computer with a head-mounted display that lets users search the web, use apps and respond to spoken instructions. Despite raising privacy concerns over the device's ability to record video, developers aren't waiting for any firm release dates for Google Glass and are scrambling to design the perfect software to complement the technology.

From gaming to fitness, facial recognition to currency conversion, CNBC highlights some of the weird and wonderful apps for the device.